A Fateful Encounter
by chocoluvr
Summary: In a village in the Swiss Alps, Neville runs into Luna and her father hoping that they won't find out why he's in Switzerland.  Thanks to his Gran she does, but both him and Luna learn more about their respective families and appreciate each other more.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter.

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After the fall of the British magical government to the Death Eaters, many witches and wizards escaped to Switzerland, with plans on sending their children to school there for their own safety. Some of the families of the patients of St. Mungo's even checked out their family members and sent them to other locations for their own safety. One of the other places they got sent to was to a private clinic in Switzerland, where all of the care for these British refugees would be at no cost to them, thanks to its founder who was a famous British wizard. There were also some families who were planning to send their children to the International School of Magic in the Swiss Alps in order to keep their children safe, even while their parents' lives were in danger. In a small village in the Swiss Alps Neville Longbottom ran into an old friend from school, where both of them were surprised to see each other. 

"What are you doing here, Neville? Aren't you going back to Hogwarts this year?" Luna asked her friend looking surprised that she would run into one of the bravest guys that she knew here, while he was needed to help out in the war back in England.

"Hi Luna what are you doing here?" Neville asked hoping that she wouldn't guess the reason for his visit to Switzerland.

"My dad wants me to go to school here, since he doesn't feel like Hogwarts wouldn't be safe for me since he's writing articles now supporting Harry after the fall of the Ministry. What are you doing here, are you making sure that your Gran gets to safety?" Luna replied curious about the reason that he was here.

"Sure that's why I'm here;" Neville replied sounding nervous, being thankful that she believed the little lie that he told her.

Just at that moment, Neville's Gran came out of one of the shops in the village and walked right up to where Neville and Luna were talking to each other. "Don't you think that you parents would enjoy this for their room, since they're in a private room and can have it decorated, unlike at St. Mungo's?" she asked him while showing him a poster with the Swiss Alps, while Luna wondered about Neville's parents.

She had always assumed that they were dead, since he didn't talk about them very much. While Neville looked as if he wanted to disappear into the ground right there. At that moment, Luna's dad happened to appear out of one of the buildings and when he spotted his daughter he walked up to her. As soon as he saw who she was talking with, he greeted her as if she were an old friend.

"Fancy running into you here, it's been a long time. I guess that you're here because of Frank and Alice, since I've heard that there was a private clinic around here," he told her. Luna looked at her dad as if he were keeping some secret from her.

Then Augusta spoke up, "Why don't we go back to our hotel room and catch up on what we've been doing, since it would be more private out here Xenophilius."

Then Augusta led the Lovegoods back to the hotel where she and Neville were staying at for the time being with Neville following behind the three of them, wishing that he could just disappear and not have to face Luna's reaction. He knew that others would find out eventually, like Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione did in his fifth year. He hoped that she would be as understanding of his secret like they were. When they got to the Longbottom's room, both his Gran and Luna's dad were talking about why they were over here.

"I assume that you're here to get Frank and Alice settled into their new home," Xenophilius told Augusta.

"Do you mind me asking why would Neville's parents be moving here? I thought that they died when Neville was younger, since he doesn't talk about them much," Luna piped in curious to find out about them, while Neville looked at her as if he dislike Luna for her frankness right there.

"You don't know, I thought that after what he told me about you that he would finally tell someone about them. I mean, he's just starting to show his courage and talent like they did before they were attacked by renegade Death Eaters. They were famous Aurors, I don't know if you were ever told the tale of the Sweetheart Aurors, they were his parents," Augusta informed Luna looking proud when she said this and ignoring Neville who was realizing that he couldn't avoid Luna finding out.

"I might of heard something about it, I always thought that it was a sweet story, where they faked their child's death in order to protect him at great risk to himself, but no names were ever mentioned," Luna answered her while Neville looked at his Gran with surprise at this new revelation.

"Did they really fake my death?" Neville asked looking interested and horrified at the same time.

"Yes they did, Neville your mum gave you the Draught of the Living Death when they heard those Death Eaters approaching in order to protect you, because they knew that they would want you dead," Augusta continued the story.

"Why would they want me dead?" Neville asked his Gran curious as to what she would say.

"I thought that it was ironic that you were the one who broke the prophecy about Harry Potter and Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries over a year ago, since it could have been you named in that prophecy and not Harry," Augusta answered him not aware that the Lovegoods were still there.

Everyone in the room looked at her when she made that revelation.

"How do you know that it could have been me? Could that prophecy caused my parent's accident?" Neville asked his Gran with the Lovegoods looking on intently.

"Yes, that's true and I don't know if that's why those Death Eaters came after your parents or not.

Though that's why your mum felt like she had to fake your death when they showed up. The Death Eaters might have thought that Voldemort had killed Harry; since he was sent to his muggle relations in secret and that he was coming after you next. Anyway, his mum thought that they would go after Neville so she gave him the Draught of the Living Death when those renegade Death Eaters came to their house and left the antidote in his right hand charmed so that anyone with the Dark Mark couldn't get to the vial, which had an unbreakable charm on it. Then when they came they thought that you were dead and they had assumed that they somehow knew where Voldemort was and so they were tortured until they lost their minds. Now they're here for their own safety in a private clinic started by one of our countrymen since Death Eaters have taken over the government and therefore the hospital," she continued on with her story.

"Really who?" Luna asked sounding interested in who would want to start such a place. "I'll get to that later, but I've not finished yet," Augusta reassured her.

"What else is there?" Neville asked looking interested and embarrassed at the same time. "I'm glad for all that you've done for our family, even if you started to write those silly stories after your wife's death in order to protect Luna here," Augusta told Luna's dad. "How did my dad help your family, especially since they're not any better?" Luna asked sounding interested.

"I don't think that you would want to hear this," her dad told her looking as if he didn't want to hear what Augusta was going to say next.

"Yes, I do I want to find out if there is another reason my mum died, since you seem to be secretive about it, I always thought that talking about it seemed to be making you upset so I didn't ask you further about it. I do remember the explosion in the lab that happened right before she died, but I don't remember much about what happened afterward," Luna told her dad in a matter of fact tone.

"Well, your dad wrote a series of articles on how some of the long term patients at St. Mungo's were being treated and even named some of the board members who were suspected Death Eaters, but were cleared for one reason or another. Unfortunately some of them didn't like to be named, so I guess either they arranged for someone or did it themselves to kill someone close to your dad and make it look like an accident. They were successful, since no one went to Azkaban for your mum's murder and it was ruled an accident. They even fooled the only eye witness there, even though she was only nine years old," Augusta answered Luna's question.

"Was I the only eye witness?" Luna asked her father.

"I wanted to wait until you were older to tell you, but yes you were sweetie," her dad told her reluctantly.

"How long were you going to wait?" Luna asked her dad sounding impatient with him. "I don't want to answer that right now. Why don't you tell us about this clinic where Frank and Alice are staying at, Augusta?" Xenophilius replied to his daughter trying to change the subject of his wife's death.

"Well, they each get their individual rooms with a roommate, but since Frank and Alice are married they get to stay in the same room that we get to decorate with some restrictions. The clinic mixes both magical and muggle means of treatment, which would give them better results in cases like his parents. I hope that they can make them better, even though Frank and Alice are there to protect them from those who run St. Mungo's now, since Death Eaters took control of the hospital I've been afraid that one of them would try to harm them. Isn't it exciting since they might be able to get better results over here than in England? There is something interesting about the clinic since its here in Switzerland and not in England. The name is interesting, since it's called the Ariana Dumbledore Clinic for Mental Disorders," Augusta told them sounding excited about it. "I know that means that my mum and dad might be cured," Neville exclaimed.

"No, Neville we already talked about this because of the extent of their injuries they may never be cured but they can learn to live with their injuries," Augusta gently reminded her grandson.

"Ariana Dumbledore isn't that Dumbledore's sister that they said was ill and inferred that he treated her badly?" Luna asked.

"It is the clinic was founded by Albus Dumbledore after his sister's death, since she was hidden at home because of her mental state and she didn't want her to be locked up in St. Mungo's for the rest of her life. For you see, back then they locked up various people in the closed ward at St. Mungo's who were declared insane and kept them heavily sedated there with their family members hardly visiting them and pretending that they didn't exist," Augusta answered Luna while glaring at Neville.

"Gran, you know that I never told anyone about them is because I didn't want to be treated differently because of my situation, I've seen how people have treated Harry over the years and I didn't want to be treated that way," Neville told his Gran sounding annoyed with her for even thinking that he wished that his parents didn't exist or were dead.

"Why didn't he build it in England instead of building it over here, I'm sure that there are some lovely places where to build such a clinic? Why didn't he tell anyone about it?" Xenophillius asked with his journalist's curiosity peaked.

"He didn't want anyone to fuss over it, plus in case any evil forces took over the British government this would provide a safe place for the mental patients to stay, since they would want harm to come to them. Dumbledore did tell me about it soon after Frank and Alice's accident in case I wanted to bring them over here; of course I didn't want to since I wanted Neville to grow up at least knowing his parents. So Dumbledore has told only those who would be in need of the clinic. Over the years I've come to regret that decision seeing that they've made very little progress over the past sixteen years, but you can't publish anything about the clinic no matter hard it is," Augusta answered Xenophillius's question.

"I know that must have been a hard decision for you, since you wanted Neville to be close to his parents and with the knowledge that they would never be cured must be painful. I do remember bringing Luna to visit them when she was little and was scared of what they had become," Xenophillius told her.

"I remember when you and Frank were at Hogwarts together you were practically inseperable, but I don't know how often you ever came to visit them," Augusta told Luna's father.

"I know but I've been busy at work and taking Luna here to go find some very rare animals on her school holidays," Xenophilius answered her.

"Well at least you're here now, I assume that you'll want to go and visit them tomorrow, I can arrange that," Augusta told him.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it Luna?" her father asked her but when he looked at the chairs where the two teens were sitting they were empty since they had left while Augusta and Xenophilius were talking.

While their guardians caught up on old times, after embarrassing the two of them with their stories, both Neville and Luna escaped to an empty area in the room where they could talk freely.

"I never knew that the Aurors in that story were either your parents or that you were the baby in it, why didn't you tell me?" Luna asked.

"I was too embarrassed about others finding out but if it makes you feel better I never told anyone at school about them, even my roommates," Neville answered her.

"That's nothing to be embarrassed about; I mean at least with my mum I never knew that part of the story. I did know that my dad did write more newsworthy stories when he was younger, but I never knew why he stopped though I did suspect the reason why," Luna exclaimed.

"I never knew that my parents were friends with your parents until today, so don't feel bad about your mum besides your dad didn't tell you the whole truth about her death because he wanted to protect you," Neville told her trying to keep her from being mad about her dad hiding the entire truth behind her mum's death.

Both Luna and Neville found a greater appreciation for each other and what they've gone through. When Augusta and Xenophilius and Augusta found them together they were astonished to find the teen pair kissing each other in the closet and made sure that whenever the two of them were together that they were chaperoned. Luna also had a greater respect for her new boyfriend with his bravery in all that he had to endure when they returned to Hogwarts a few weeks later.

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**Author's Note**: Please read and review. 


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